The Utah Jazz have a point guard problem


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz need a point guard.

Deron Williams was the last player to fill the role appropriately, starting nearly five seasons for the Jazz before being traded to the New Jersey Nets in a rebuilding effort to bring in young talent. Williams was an All-Star, an All-NBA team member, a go-to scoring option, a leading assist-man, an Olympian and a gold medalist.

And he wasn’t the best.

Williams joined the Jazz two years after John Stockton retired, 19 years after he debuted for the team. Like Williams, Stockton was an All-Star, an All-NBA member, a scorer, the greatest assist-man the NBA has ever seen, likewise for steals, an Olympian, a two-time gold medalist, one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players and a Hall-of-Famer.

And he wasn’t the first.

Rickey Green started for the Jazz between 1981 and 1987, was an All-Star in 1984, and led the league in steals per game the same season. He could score and pass and was known for his blazing speed.

Between 1981 and 2010, the Jazz spent two seasons without an upper echelon starting point guard, with 2003 seeing Carlos Arroyo take the reins, only to be replaced by Keith McLeod the next season. Williams stepped in and led the Jazz to the Western Conference Finals in his second season.

Now the next point guard needs to step up. The Jazz are nearing a close to the fourth full season since moving Williams, and the next full-time starter has yet to step up. Devin Harris filled the role after the trade and led the Jazz to the playoffs in the lockout-shortened season of 2011-12, only to get swept in four games by the San Antonio Spurs.


The future of both players may be bright, with glimpses of elite speed, defense and playmaking shown from Exum, and clutch scoring outputs displayed by Burke, but neither contributes skills regularly enough to provide Jazz fans with the confidence that they will be prepared next season to lead the young roster to the playoffs.

The Jazz don’t need a gold medalist, an Olympian, an All-NBA member, or even an All-Star. Expecting that type of production in today’s point guard heavy NBA is a lot to ask from even the most optimistic Jazz fan, but the Jazz need a legit starter to fill the role.

Having drafted point guards with back-to-back lottery picks over the past two summers, while ignoring adding proven NBA veterans in free agency, Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey had to be thinking one of two things: either Trey Burke or Dante Exum was ready to step in and fill the starting role immediately, or the supporting cast around these point guards was farther from competing than they’ve proven this year.

Either way, he was wrong, as neither Burke nor Exum has placed a stranglehold on the position, while Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert appear ready to compete for a playoff spot in the crowded Western Conference.

Both Burke and Exum are years away from reaching the primes of their careers, as Burke played only two seasons of college, and has now spent equal time in the NBA. While Exum took one of the NBA’s stranger paths to the league, missing a year of competitive basketball, playing neither internationally nor collegiately, opting instead to prepare himself for the NBA with legendary trainer Tim Grover.

The future of both players may be bright, with glimpses of elite speed, defense and playmaking shown from Exum, and clutch scoring outputs displayed by Burke, but neither contributes skills regularly enough to provide Jazz fans with the confidence that they will be prepared next season to lead the young roster to the playoffs.

ESPN recently released a statistic measuring a player’s contribution of wins per season to his steam, above or below what the average replacement level player would add to the team. Burke comes in below replacement level, at negative .07 wins below league average, ranking him as 57th best point guard in the league. Exum, incorrectly listed as a shooting guard in the database, comes in at what would be the 35th best point guard in the league, adding just 1.38 wins over the length of a season.

The Jazz problem can be solved one of two ways, either adding veteran point guard help in the offseason, including a potential starter to fill the role until either Burke or Exum are ready to take over, if ever, or by seeing major growth from Burke or Exum this summer, earning the job before the beginning of the 2015-16 season.

The Jazz are ready to take the next step as three of the five starting positions appear filled, with no dearth of wings capable of filling in at shooting guard. The last position that needs to be filled is the one that over the last 35 years has seemed like a plug and play role for the NBA’s next great point guard.


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About the Author: Ben Anderson ------------------------------

Ben Anderson is the co-host of Gunther in the Afternoon with Kyle Gunther on 1320 KFAN from 3-7, Monday through Friday. Read Ben's Utah Jazz blog at 1320kfan.com, and follow him on Twitter @BenKFAN.

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